Chapter 2: Rumor Has It...
The next morning Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was filled with the groans of several hundred students waking for another school day. Once sleep was rubbed from their eyes they showered, dawned their uniforms including house robes, gathered their bags of supplies, and headed down to the Great Hall to breakfast. It was the same as any other autumn morning, for sixth year Gryffindor students Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger. The trio of friends has been inseparable since they meet on the train their first year at age eleven, now all nearly sixteen the bond was stronger than ever.
Over the course of their five years of friendship they had experienced more trials than most adults encountered in a lifetime. More than one occasion found one or more of them nearly meeting a violent end. Then again when your best friend is the famous boy who lived who was still being hunted by the darkest wizard in all of history two things happen. One either quickly made friends with someone else or learns that it's part of the friendship and stick by his side under whatever is thrown at him. Harry truly was fortunate in the friends he had in his life…and he never took this for granitite.
Just like every morning they were one of the last students to reach breakfast due to Ron's reluctance to start the day. Today though something was different and they recognized it the instant that they entered the room. It almost felt like a static charge hung in the air despite the early hour. The student body was a buzz with a rumor that was already flying the halls even though it was barely eight o'clock in the morning. The trio hadn't even taken their seats at the house table when a fellow Gryffindor turned to them, a large grin plastered on his chubby face.
" D'ya hear the news? They said that a muggle found the school last night!" he exclaimed his voice cracking with excitement. "How wicked is that?!"
Hermione exchanged a confused look with the boys who looked as equally lost. The thought was simply out of the question in her mind. After all, Hogwarts was protected by various spells and charms that prevent anyone non-magical, muggles as they were called, from finding it. Every student knew this fact but this had not stopped everyone else from gossiping, even though the unlikelihood of this occurring was astronomical.
Out of the white noise of the student's chatter a few extreme stories were picked up by Hermione's ears. "I heard that he got attacked by a werewolf," a first year from Ravenclaw said to his group of friends. "And that one of his hands was ripped off!"
"I heard she was blinded by a centaur," a second year from Hufflepuff cried, nearly spilling her glass of pumpkin juice in the course of her excitement. "And when they found her eyes were GONE!"
Honestly, Hermione thought with a roll of her eyes listening to all the stories from the underclassmen. Deciding she had wasted enough time of this outlandish story, she pulled out one of her many books to get further ahead in her lessons.
"Whatcha make of all this, mate?" Ron asked as he grabbed some toast from the plate in the middle of the table.
Harry shrugged as he began to eat his breakfast; it was too early for him to think about anything besides trying to stay awake. Normally, when something so extremely out of the ordinary occurred around him every nerve in his body went on edge. Though as he sat there nothing appeared to be signaling it was any more than a story. The telltale sign this was true was the fact that his famous lightning bolt scar wasn't bothering him. "Talk to me after Potions, and I might have an opinion," he said his voice was still hoarse from sleep.
"Well I think this is absurd," Hermione jumped in as she looked up from her book. "They should be using all this energy on their lessons instead of this nonsense."
With the volume of the noise in the Great Hall increasing by the second it was getting harder to hear even the people seated next to them. This chatter ended abruptly when a door opened with a loud slam against the wall. From it emerged Professor Dumbledore looking like he hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged concerned looks upon seeing the old wizard looking almost disheveled. His blue robes where rumpled and wrinkled, his hair was not neatly combed under the matching hat, and his half moon glasses were askew on his face. Every eye in the room tracked his movement; even the staff table was silent as he approached.
"Good morning," he started, gripping the podium. Before the student body could even respond he continued on speaking. "On my way here this morning I heard several students talking about a muggle on the school's ground."
The children and teens held their collective breath as they waited to hear whether the story was indeed fact or fiction. Dumbledore was known for speaking the truth no matter what the reaction. So there was no doubt in any of their minds that he would speak anything but that. "I would like to be the first to tell you all, this is not true. As you all know with the enchantments there is no possible way an ordinary muggle could have just wandered onto the grounds. Now I do not know who started this rumor, but it is to stop right now, is that understood?"
"Yes, Professor," the students responded in a singsong manner.
Without another word the old wizard turned quickly and exited the room out the door he had just entered moments before. The disappointed pupils rose slowly to start another long boring day of notes and lectures, the high energy in the room completely dissolving. They were just over the threshold of the door when Hermione and the boys were quickly pulled aside by another teacher. Professor Minerva McGonagall stood before her students; she too looking like she had not gotten much rest the night before.
"Are you all right Professor…" Harry asked his sentence being cut short with a quick look from his instructor.
"Miss Granger, Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak to you privately in his office," she whispered as she tried not the bring attention to their small group. "You are to be excused from your classes for the day."
"Lucky," Ron muttered under his breath which caused him to receive a look from the Transfiguration professor.
Hermione felt her stomach drop; her lessons were the highlight of her day. Not going to class was the worse kind of punishment one could do to her. "But, Professor, I don't understand, did I do something wrong . . ."
McGonagall raised her hand to silence the young witch as she cast a stern look at students who had paused to eavesdrop. The look she shot them sent the quickly on their way and allowed her to continue to address the present party.
"You will understand shortly, my dear," she reassured Hermione who was staring at her with hurt eyes. She then turned toward the dumbfounded Harry and Ron, who secretly hoped they would get an excuse from their classes as well. "As for you two… you may go your classes now, but it would be wise if you did not mention this little conversation, is that understood?" She narrowed her eyes behind her square framed glasses causing the pair to squirm in their skin.
The boys nodded their heads and turned toward the direction of their first class. With a look that said "good luck" Ron disappeared around the corner with the rest of the Gryffindor sixth years. Soon the halls began to grow quiet as the students found their respective classrooms. Once the hallway was empty McGonagall motioned for Hermione to follow her. The pair walked across the school and up the stairs to where Professor Dumbledore's office was located. Hermione's stomach tied itself in knots as she stood in front of the large gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the office. Normally, when she was summoned to his office she was accompanied by one or both other members of the trio. Now standing here alone Hermione found herself extremely nervous for some odd reason. McGonagall sensed this uneasiness and smiled gently at her, knowing that her student would surly make her proud.
Then raising a hand toward the statue she uttered, "Sherbet lemon." The gargoyle sprang to life on command and dove out of the doorway revealing a set of spiral stairs. Instantly the stairs began to spin rising toward the top of the tower right before Hermione's eyes.
"Professor Dumbledore will be waiting for you inside. Don't worry Miss Granger, I know you will do just fine," she said and squeezed her shoulder. With that she turned and walked toward her classroom leaving a very confused female Gryffindor alone in the hallway.